Captivating elementary school students’ interests in solving mathematics word problems with the use of comics

Abstract

This study explores the use of comics in teaching elementary school students on solving Mathematics Word Problems. A total of 12 Year 2 students from an elementary school in Brunei Darussalam were chosen to participate in the study. A series of comics were created and some exercises included characters that were adapted from a local popular culture for utilization in teaching the students in order to engage their learning. The method chosen to conduct the research is of mix method adapted through usage of the action research model. A pre-test was conducted before the lesson intervention to assess the students’ prior knowledge of the content on the terms used in mathematics word problems. Subsequently a post-test was administered right after the intervention lessons were completed in order to discern if there were any significant improvements. Based on a classroom observation that was video recorded when the intervention was carried out, the children were highly motivated and very much interested in the content of the comics. Furthermore, the findings from the interviews revealed two major themes, which are ‘Enjoyment’ that detailed the students enjoying and had fun with the usage of the comics in the classroom, whereas ‘Interest’ tied in with the students’ enjoyment that resulted from their interest in the comic books. It is recommended that educators use comics in classroom due to its potential, especially in mathematics, where certain concepts can be quite challenging for some students to grasp.